Microsoft Application Center 2000 Resource Kit (IT-Resource Kits) [Paperback]

Microsoft Corporation (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 28, 2001 | Series: IT-Resource Kits

This Microsoft "Resource Kit" delivers essential reference and tools to IT professionals who want to fully exploit the functionality of Microsoft Application Center Server 2000 -- a strategic solution for running and managing Web applications through "Web farms", or clusters. This kit covers a variety of deployment scenarios, ranging from simple Web applications to multitier e-commerce solutions. Packed with use-now tools and information, this authoritative kit can help IT professionals save time, reduce ownership and support costs, and maximize their organization's investments in Web technologies. The CD features must-have tools and utilities to aid product support and deployment.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ordering the resource kits to supplement Microsoft Corporation software is pretty much standard procedure in a lot of technology departments. Microsoft Application Center Resource Kit will satisfy those buyers, as well as--more importantly, perhaps--experts from technology shops who don't buy every resource kit that comes along. This book explains the orthodox way of implementing Application Center 2000, as envisioned by the people who developed the clustering and load-balancing solution for server farms and data centers. You'll learn a lot from the printed documentation that makes up the bulk of this product, and you'll be grateful for the collection of software that appears on the companion CD-ROM, especially if you're working with something other than a straight vanilla Application Center installation.

This book's documentation runs, appropriately, more along the lines of tables and diagrams from which administrators and consultants can draw their own conclusions than toward explicit procedures, though there are some sequenced steps (especially where a resource kit utility is involved). The explanations of what talks to what when, and why, should prove helpful to people doing troubleshooting work, and Component Load Balancing (CLB) is better explained here than anywhere else. Utilities on the CD-ROM include a remote monitoring tool, a stress tester, a SQL Server event monitor, and lots of other cool toys. --David Wall

Topics covered: The inner workings of Microsoft Application Center 2000. Documentation explains cluster services, load balancing, deployment, troubleshooting, and performance monitoring.

Product Details

• Paperback: 675 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (March 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735610231
• ISBN-13: 978-0735610231
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,982,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Errors and lies, October 27, 2001

By 

Bill Keaning (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft Application Center 2000 Resource Kit (IT-Resource Kits) (Paperback)

This book has so many errors I'm amazed it came from Microsoft. It says you can use NLB with one NIC - you can't. It misdocuments command-line syntax for AC.EXE. I've found so many minor errors that I wish I could just send the book back. Half of this book just duplicates the App Center online manual. I learned more from a presentation I saw at a conference and I'm buying that guy's book when it comes out - Application Center 2000 Configuration by Don Jones.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good from MCSE exams, February 14, 2003

By 

Daniel Wilson (Williamston, SC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft Application Center 2000 Resource Kit (IT-Resource Kits) (Paperback)

I used this book as part of my prep for MCSE exams 70-232 and 70-226. It's almost enough information by itself for 232.

The reading is as dry as a technical book is expected to be, but the information is extremely helpful, especially as no study guides are likely to be published for 232 any time soon.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, some errors, February 12, 2003

By 

Mike "Mike" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft Application Center 2000 Resource Kit (IT-Resource Kits) (Paperback)

This is a good book, and covers many great details of how AppCenter operates. Keep in mind though that the book was published before the final product release, so many of its errors stem from design changes after this book went to press.

If you are responsible for an AppCenter cluster, I highly recommend this text. Hopefully MSPress will correct its errors in a new edition.

BTW, for the record, you can most definately use NLB if you have only one NIC, you just can't configure AppCenter to use NLB if you don't have two.